MESA, Ariz. – After battling through 48 hours of windy weather, Wayland Baptist survived the cut at the NAIA Men's Golf National Championships. And with favorable conditions in the forecast, coach Tom Harp is excited to see how his Pioneers will fare over their final 36 holes.
"The guys gutted it out and played really well today," Harp said. "I'm super proud of them, from top to bottom."
The 20th-ranked Pioneers are tied for 15th place in the 30-team field after shooting rounds of 315 and 297. The top 17 teams made the cut for Thursday's and Friday's rounds.
"The guys battled through some really rough conditions (Tuesday) afternoon, and then had more wind this morning before it started to calm down, so we had the two bad draws," Harp said.
Of the 17 teams making the cut, only Wayland and three others had Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning tee times when wind gusts approached 35 mph. The 13 other teams realized better conditions before and after the front blew through Las Sendas Golf Club's Hilly Desert Course. "It was absolutely calm this afternoon," Harp said.
Wayland's 297 was the lowest score posted this morning and tied for eighth-lowest of the day. Of the top 17 teams, only one – Kansas Wesleyan, which is tied for 11th – also had the bad-weather draw and currently stands ahead of Wayland.
"Today's round showed how good the guys played," said Harp, pointing out that fourth-ranked Dalton State (Ga.) failed to make the cut. "They shot 319 in good weather. It's a tough course."
Third-ranked Texas Wesleyan (293-283—576) leads the tournament by a whopping 14 strokes, ahead of ninth-ranked Rocky Mountain College (296-294—590). Second-ranked Oklahoma City (306-300—606) is ninth, six shots ahead of Wayland.
Individually, Michael Valk turned in Wayland's low round Wednesday, an even-par 71 which was the second-lowest mark of the morning. Combined with his 78 Tuesday, Valk's 149 total is tied for 28th in the field of 156 golfers.
Leading the field is Kansas Wesleyan's Ben Hadden (68-70—138), two shots ahead of Texas Wesleyan's Victor Miron (70-70—140) and five in front of Miron's teammate Tyron Davidowitz (73-70—143).
Wayland freshman Johannes Hounsgaard is tied for 52nd after his 77-76—153. Sebastien Tremulot improved his first round by 10 shots and shot 73 Wednesday for a 156, one shot ahead of Sentanio Minnie (78-79), who was forced to finish his 17th and 18th holes this morning after bieng one of a handful of golfers who were not able to finish their first round Tuesday due to darkness. Rounding out Wayland is Jake Craft (82-77—159).
"We were one of the few teams without a round in the 80s today, for sure the only one in the morning," Harp said.
While they haven't yet played up to their expectations, Harp said, "I'm looking for Sentanio and Joe to come back and play well and be a big part of whatever success we have over the next couple of days. It's supposed to be great weather, so we'll have a chance to experience much better conditions. I'd love to see them play some good golf and end the year on a high note. I know they'll go out and work super hard and lay it all out there the next two days."
As proud as Harp is of how his golfers battled through tough conditions, the coach said he's more proud of how they've conducted themselves.
"I've had so many people say how impressed they were at how incredible our guys acted and handled themselves out there in some adverse conditions. They've shown the utmost class. With so many kids losing their cool, that's rare to see with young college kids on the golf course."
